Wang Jun muttered a curse under his breath, spat on the floor, then ignored me completely and asked Lili directly, "Are you coming back with me or not?"
Lili bit her lip tightly, her head lowered.
She didn't speak and didn't look at him.
"I'm talking to you! Why are you pretending to be dead? Hurry up and answer me!"
Hearing this, Lili finally lifted her head and glanced at Wang Jun, her face full of disappointment. "Is this the attitude you use to ask me to come back?"
Wang Jun froze. "What's wrong with my attitude? The kid is born, and you as the mother don't care and don't ask. Giving you this attitude is already good enough!"
Hearing that, Lili suddenly let out a sharp, cold laugh.
"A mother? Wang Jun, you know I'm the mother? You know that child was born by me? You know that child was born by me?!"
Her voice rose sharply at the last sentence, trembling as she questioned him for the first time.
Wang Jun frowned, clearly unhappy that Lili referred to his son as "that child."
"Wang Jun, I really never imagined you were this kind of person. I must have been blind to marry you. If I had known earlier you were worse than an animal, I would've strangled that child in my belly and never risked my life carrying him for months to give birth!"
Lili's voice trembled harder and harder; her eyes were red, and she looked like she could burst into tears at any moment.
"You like that child? Fine. You keep him. I'll pretend I never gave birth. Don't come telling me I'm your wife or the child's mother. It disgusts me."
Wang Jun clearly didn't expect Lili to say something like that.
The flesh on his face twitched for a while before he pointed at her and spoke:
"Fine… fine, you damn woman. You're really ruthless, huh? You've really got some nerve to say that. Just don't regret it later. From now on, the boy has nothing to do with you. Don't even think about touching him again!"
After he finished, he shot me a vicious glare.
His eyes were bloodshot like he held some deep hatred toward me.
He snorted coldly from his nose, then turned and left.
I was a bit baffled.
What does any of this have to do with me?
After Wang Jun left, Lao Si let out a deep sigh and followed out without saying anything.
Sister Liu glanced sideways at Lili and couldn't hold back her words.
"Some things I didn't want to say, but Lili, I always thought you were a good kid, a proper girl. Who would've thought that in just a few days you've turned into someone so cold-hearted? A mother who doesn't want her child—I've lived this long and never seen it. And your child is even a boy."
After she finished, seeing Lili remain silent, she tugged Song Meijing and turned to leave as well.
Before she stepped out, she added:
"You're already a mother. Some hardships and exhaustion—you just endure them. Don't go throwing such a big tantrum, making a grown man beg you over and over. Think it over yourself. Don't go too far."
Before leaving, Song Meijing looked at me with a mocking smile at the corner of her lips, then walked out with Sister Liu.
Once they left, Lili immediately turned and went back to her room.
Chen Pu and Jun Di stood there stunned for a moment, then each greeted me before returning to their rooms as well.
That left me alone in the living room, looking around left and right, confused…
Lili was still in her postpartum month and shouldn't bathe, so when we returned to the room, I thought she would cry secretly by herself.
But instead, she acted as if nothing had happened and took Xiaohu to wash up.
Watching her chatting and laughing with Xiaohu, I sighed lightly and went back to the bedroom.
There were no clothes in the wardrobe—only a few large bath towels.
I took two out; when Xiaohu came out, I wrapped him in one and dried his hair.
Then I went into the bathroom myself and washed thoroughly from head to toe.
After drying my hair a little, I walked back to the bedroom and saw Xiaohu already asleep.
Lili was leaning beside him, lightly patting his back, though she seemed lost in thought.
I cleared my throat to get her attention and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Lili snapped back to reality and frowned when she saw me drying my hair.
"Why didn't you wash your hair tomorrow morning? It won't dry this late at night."
"It's fine. It felt greasy and unbearable. It's more comfortable now. I'll go stand on the balcony later—the wind will dry it faster."
I walked over and sat at the edge of the bed.
"Mm." Lili responded softly, looked at me twice, and seemed hesitant to speak.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"It's just… this might be abrupt, but seeing how Suo Tian seems to have some authority here… could you ask him? I want to live farther away."
"What?" I involuntarily raised my voice.
Xiaohu mumbled twice, and Lili quickly patted him back to sleep.
After confirming he hadn't woken up, I lowered my voice and asked, "You want to move out and live alone? You can't. We still don't know enough about this place. It's safer if everyone stays together."
Lili sighed. "I know that. But I really don't want to see Wang Jun every day. Every time I see him, I think of the baby. I feel sorry for the child, and then I hate Wang Jun. If this continues, I'll go crazy sooner or later."
I stayed silent for a while, thought it over, then said, "How about this: tomorrow we'll ask downstairs and see if all of us can move to another floor, away from Wang Jun and the others. If that doesn't work, then we'll talk to Suo Tian. But you absolutely cannot live alone."
"Alright." Lili agreed, but she didn't look particularly happy.
She simply answered faintly, then curled into the blanket as if ready to sleep.
I looked at her for a moment, sighed, and left the bedroom.
After closing the door, I walked to the balcony.
I must have gotten used to sitting there, because I completely forgot I'd just showered.
I sat directly on the floor with the bath towel still wrapped around me, too lazy to care.
The wind blew against me as I sat on the balcony.
I stared blankly at the distant view—far brighter than the pitch-black nights of the past few months—but for some reason, the peacefulness and relief I felt earlier in the afternoon were gone.
Instead, a layer of confusion and helplessness clouded my heart.
While I was lost in thought, the living-room light behind me suddenly clicked off.
Moments later, the lights in the distant buildings also dimmed one after another.
Within minutes, the bright lights vanished completely, leaving only a quiet, eerie darkness.
I couldn't help letting out a long sigh.
No matter how much we cover up or hide it, the world has truly changed.
Even though the base tried to recreate a society similar to before, and everyone tried to act like life had returned to normal, deep down we all understood—it was impossible.
Everything had already been completely altered by that sudden virus.
Leaning my head against the cold wall, I stared at the darkness outside.
Unknowingly, I fell asleep just like that.
The next time I woke up was when Shen Feng came to call us for breakfast—and only then did everyone notice I had slept on the balcony the entire night.
Shen Feng had spent the longest time with me, and he knew I liked sneaking off to the balcony.
So when he didn't find me in the bedroom, the balcony was the first place he checked.
Probably because I had been in the wind the whole night, my head felt dizzy and heavy when I woke up.
It took a long moment before my mind started functioning again.
I patted my own head and, using Shen Feng's support, slowly stood up.
The moment I got to my feet, I saw his expression change slightly— and that was when I suddenly remembered I was still wrapped only in the bath towel from last night's shower.
I let out an "Ah!" and quickly pushed him away, running back into the bedroom.
I vaguely heard Shen Feng's soft chuckle behind me.
The clothes I wore last night were already far too dirty to wear again, and I hadn't washed them.
Just as I was feeling stuck and unsure of what to do, Han Xue came over with a clean set of clothes, saving me like a hero.
I thanked all her ancestors while hurriedly getting dressed.
After washing up at lightning speed, Lili and the others had already gone over to Uncle Gazi's place.
According to Jun Di, all the rice, flour, and vegetables we were allocated had been stored at Uncle Gazi's, so everyone naturally treated that place as the communal dining hall.
Whether they were eating or not, someone was always running in and out of that room.
Wherever there are elders, the place naturally becomes the center for everyone.
Over the long period we've been together, Uncle Gazi has long become a respected elder and family member in everyone's heart.
It's not only because of his gentle and kind nature, but also because of his sincerity.
Even toward people like Wang Jun and his group, he always showed nothing but tolerance.
I scooped up Xiao Hu, who was still sleeping like a log, and hurried toward the next room.
By the time we arrived, everyone had already started eating.
I quickly hollered, "Save some for the two of us, will you?"
"Nothing left for you! Here, this is Xiao Hu's milk." Uncle Gazi laughed heartily as he handed me a cup of milk.
Though Xiao Hu was still half-asleep, the moment he saw the cup of milk he became instantly energized.
He wriggled out of my arms, grabbed the cup, and ran straight to Tingyun, who was sitting on the sofa watching Cartoon.
After eating breakfast with everyone and cleaning up, I brought up the possibility of us having to move.
Everyone was very understanding.
They comforted Lili one by one and said that as long as all of us stayed together, it didn't matter where we lived.
Lili didn't shed a single tear during the situation last night, but now, hearing everyone's words, she smiled as tears streamed down her face.
Watching the whole room bustling—some passing tissues, others comforting—I started feeling moved and emotional again.
We've drifted from place to place for so long as a group, suffered countless hardships, escaped death together more times than we can remember.
We've had conflicts, yet we always trusted one another, cared for one another, and walked all the way to today.
(Sometimes happiness isn't as difficult as we imagine. It's just that under the pressure of life, we've convinced ourselves that it's unreachable. We confine our view to crowded buses, packed subway stations, demanding bosses, and rising prices.
Living too practically makes us forget our true selves. When God created people and brought them into this world, He gave us countless forms of happiness and joy. He placed them all within our reach. All it takes is for us to quiet our hearts, observe with optimism and gratitude, and we will discover that we are surrounded—tightly—by endless happiness.)
— The end of the Chapter–